Malta's electronics giant

The value of electronic exports shrunk by €200 million in 2008 but still managed to top the €1 billion mark, making the sector a veritable giant in the economic landscape.

In 2008 the three top export sectors in terms of monetary value were electrical machinery, pharmaceutical products and printing, figures released by the National Statistics Office show.

The electrical machinery sector, which includes electronic components such as those produced by ST Microelectronics, was by far the largest contributor in export terms. ST recently announced it would shed jobs, amid declining demand.

However, the electronics sector is also the largest importer of goods with a total value of €721 million.

The pharmaceutical industry came in a distant second with exports totalling €167.8 million last year, an increase of €16 million over 2007.

The printing industry was the third largest export sector in 2008, generating revenues of €99.3 million. This represented an increase of €6.5 million over 2007.

The NSO figures also record a dramatic drop of €41.3 million in fish exports. In 2007 fish exports amounted to €104.2 million putting the sector in third place after electronics and pharmaceuticals.

However, with an export value of €62.9 million in 2008, the sector now lies in sixth.

In import terms, oil and fuel outstripped the other sectors with the country paying a total of €574.9 million in 2008.

This represented a hefty increase in expenditure of €154.7 million over 2007.

This increase represents the record oil prices experienced during the first half of the year before the international economic collapse, which brought oil prices down.

Factbox

Top three export sectors 2008

Electrical machinery - €1bln

Pharmaceutical - €167.8 mln

Printing - €99.3 mln

Top three export sectors 2007

Electrical machinery - €1.2 bln

Pharmaceutical - €151.8 mln

Fish/crustaceans - €104.2 mln